F1's Alex Albon to Take Over Williams Teammate Logan Sargeant's Car at Australian Grand Prix After Practice Session Crash
Alex Albon will replace Formula 1 teammate Logan Sargeant in the upcoming Australian Grand Prix!
The 27-year-old Williams driver got into a crash during the first practice session on Friday (March 22) deeming his car nearly undrivable.
Now, due to the repairs needed, the team did not have a third chassis to fix his car and they have made the decision that Alex will take over Logan‘s car for the remainder of the weekend.
Keep reading to find out more…
“Due to the extensive damage sustained, [Williams Racing] is forced to withdraw the chassis for the remainder of the Grand Prix. This chassis will be returned to the team’s HQ at Grove for repair,” the team shared in a statement.
“Due to the fact that a third chassis is unavailable, the team can confirm it has taken the decision for Alex to compete for the remainder of the weekend in the chassis that Logan Sargeant drove in FP1 and FP2.”
The reasoning for Alex to continue the weekend and Logan sits it out is due to his better record on the track. Alex scored 27 out of the 28 points the Williams Racing team scored in the 2023 season.
“We are hugely disappointed that the damage sustained to the chassis has meant we need to withdraw it from the weekend,” team principal James Vowles said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable in modern day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis, but it is a reflection of how behind we were in the winter period and an illustration of why we need to go through significant change in order to get ourselves in a better position for the future.”
“While Logan should not have to suffer from a mistake that he did not make, every race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend,” he added.
You can read the full statements from the team and drivers below…
The 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend continues with the third practice session and qualifying round on Saturday (March 23) and the race on Sunday (March 24).